Group Painting in Yosemite

Time is quickly approaching, when I’ll be taking visitors to Yosemite out to paint plein air in the Park, for the Yosemite Conservancy. We’ll be painting with acrylics this year from September 10th – 15th (oil paints are not allowed in Yosemite).

We begin each morning at 10am and paint until 2pm and the Park only charges visitors $20 per day (I volunteer my time). You’ll never find a more economical opportunity to receive painting lessons and you’ll be doing so in one of the most breathtaking environments on the planet. Your fee supports an organization working to keep Yosemite the natural wonder it is, now and for future generations.

I live in the Sierras near Yosemite and travel up to the Park solo or with friends to paint in the open air, often, but this week each year allows me the unique opportunity to meet painting and natural wonder enthusiasts from around the globe. The groups during this week are generally intimate, just 5 to 10 individuals, which allows me to offer personal attention to all participants.

Even if you’ve visited Yosemite before, PAINTING this natural wonder is a very different, Zen like, experience. Remaining in one location, examining one phenomenal vista over multiple hours, your mind clears, your breathing slows, vision, hearing and sense of smell sharpen. You no longer seek out the Park, the Park approaches to you! The creaking, cracking, chirping, sloshing rushing of the wilderness, rises in your ears. Colors you never noticed were there become your focus. Local forest inhabitants show themselves, as you become a fixture in their environment.